Month: June 2015

Halfway through I was sad, but only because I knew it was too short. I wanted more time in this world because I was really enjoying my time in it.I just wanted to magically delay the ending of it somehow. I paused at the halfway point and just wished it could be longer. Still a great debut from S.A. Starcevic.

Untouchable is in one of the niche genres I am obsessed with. LGBT novels with characters that have superpowers make me really happy. Even when they aren’t the happiest stories. This one definitely left me feeling happy.

This one felt different than most I’ve read. Ethan has no qualms about being open about his sexuality in the book. Even once he arrives at the superhero training base. It’s not something he’s even a little insecure about and I really liked that.

I really enjoyed S.A. Starcevic’s writing style. .The scenes were set well.I loved the way the characters were described. I thought the way Ethan saw things was really realistic for someone his age. There were some really witty moments as well.

I really loved the characters. I mean all the characters. The scene with Ethan’s parents was wonderful. I felt like my parents would react somewhat similarly if someone took a questionable superhero base. We see the other superheroes for a short period in the story and I found myself loving them as well. The description of them made me wish I could see more of them.

Gravity Girl in particular was not the way i expected a superhero to act off the clock. I liked getting her perspective because it was the only way to see that interaction since Ethan wasn’t there. She’s a really cool character.I do wish we had gotten someone else’s at least once like Greyson or more of hers since it felt odd just having the one perspective switch. I would have loved to see more of her interactions with Greyson and Ethan. I’d really love knowing how Element Boy and Gravity Girl first met and if it was in costume or as their other identities. They seemed close so I’d like to see how they got there.

The romance in this book was really sweet. I loved it, but definitely wished I could either see it develop more over some time or see some of Greyson’s perspective. I wanted to understand what they both were feeling.

I usually am totally okay with things being standalones, but I would definitely buy the follow-up if there was one for this. I ended up giving this a 4 star ranking. Loved the characters, plot, and writing style so much. I just wish I’d been able to see more development in some areas. Really hope to read something of more substantial length from this author in the future.

This week’s Top 5 Wednesday topic is books you read in one sitting. This is something I often end up doing when I read. Especially if I’m really excited for the book beforehand. Here’s five books i read in one sitting.

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera – If I pre-order a book I will often end up reading it in one sitting. This was a book I pre-ordered really early. It was an emotional and psychological roller coaster for me.

Blood of Olympus – I was so excited to get this book I couldn’t put it down once I started. I paced around while reading for part of it and I think my family thought I was crazy.

The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal by E.K. Weaver – I wasn’t planning on reading this whole comic in one sitting. It was late and I wanted to sleep, but it was too good to stop at volume one.

Becoming Chloe by Catherine Ryan Hyde – This one was close. I read the majority of it on a train ride to see my fiance and finished it the second we got to his dorm. This book has really compelling characters.

Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare – Partially read this in one sitting because it was for school. I also just needed to get to the end because of how crazy it was once I started. This is Shakespeare’s bloodiest play and it’s awesome. This is not something you want to read before dinner. Trust me.

Broadway, New York. The shows, the neon lights . . . the cute chorus boys! It’s where Justin has always wanted to be–and now, with a winter internship for a famous actor, he finally has his chance to shine. If only he could ditch his kind, virtuous, upright, and–dare he say it?—uptightboyfriend, Spencer. But once the internship begins, Justin has more to worry about than a cramped single-guy-in-the-city style. Instead of having his moment in the spotlight, he’s a not-so-glorified errand boy. Plus, Spencer is hanging out with a celebra-hottie, Justin’s best friend Becky isn’t speaking to him, and his famous actor boss seems headed for flopdom. Justin’s tap-dancing as fast as he can, but all his wit and sass might not be enough to switch his time in New York from nightmare-terrible to dream-come-true terrific.

I did not finish this book at about 54% before skimming through the rest to see if it got any better. Justin is probably the most selfish and egotistical character I’ve ever read. This story sounded really fun and like it could be interesting , but the main character was unbearable. He gets called out on his selfish behavior and reacts with that big ego he has. He is obsessed with a guy who dumps him, even though he was planning on dumping the guy anyway.He uses people’s and lies without any real remorse.

He became so unlikable to the point that a turnaround for his character wouldn’t work. The point of no return was hit.It’s like what the show Arrow did to Helena Bertinelli.If his friends forgive him by the end of the book and he has some big turn around it won’t be believable. If his world ended in shambles I’d like this book because that’s what Justin deserved.It wasn’t heading in that direction. I couldn’t even enjoy the mystery aspect of the book because of how aggravating the character was. Really unfortunate considering I was looking forward to reading this.

Astrid Jones desperately wants to confide in someone, but her mother’s pushiness and her father’s lack of interest tell her they’re the last people she can trust. Instead, Astrid spends hours lying on the backyard picnic table watching airplanes fly overhead. She doesn’t know the passengers inside, but they’re the only people who won’t judge her when she asks them her most personal questions . . . like what it means that she’s falling in love with a girl.

I kind of loved this novel. I listened to the audiobook over the course of a couple of days and really felt myself loving Astrid Jones.

Astrid didn’t want to be labeled. The thing is you don’t have to be. When she doesn’t want to say she’s gay it’s okay.She never even really considers that she might be straight. This isn’t a I don’t know if I’m straight or gay story.She just doesn’t want to be put into a box. I really enjoyed that. She just knows she likes a girl.It doesn’t matter if she’s gay or not. That label isn’t for everyone. You can reject labels or change yours. Whatever. I also felt that the book showed how that isn’t easy for everyone though as more pressure gets pushed onto Astrid.

I also felt like she was a character that reacted to events logically, which I don’t always see in YA. I loved her obsession with philosophers that grew in the book.I did feel like there were moments where I just wanted her to act more or say what she really wanted when she didn’t. She sometimes filtered herself too much I think.

I loved her idea of sending love to people. Even strangers in the airplanes passing by. The idea of that is so beautiful to me because you don’t know if that stranger might really need to feel some love in that moment.

The passengers were the other thing that made me love this book. There are sections where we switch to the voices of the passengers on planes that Astrid spends her time looking up to. There are mini stories about love, tolerance, forgiveness and more. They aren’t at all what I expected either. They aren’t all stories that have happy endings. Each time we got through one of these I needed to take a moment to take in what happened. I honestly thought they were brilliantly done. They fit so well in the spaces between Astrid’s story.

Astrid’s mother is a really difficult character to deal with, but she’s extremely realistic. I felt all the characters in this book pretty realistic by the end. Any questions I had about a character’s actions or motives was answered in the end for the most part.

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is Most Anticipated reads for the rest of 2015. This was a lot harder than I expected. Many of the books i’d been anticipating this year are already out. I didn’t actually make it to ten on this one even though I’m sure I could find a few more books coming out later this year that I’d be excited for. I just don’t know about them yet.

1. Ringing True by Piper Vaughn –

“When his boyfriend, Laurie, sweeps him off on a romantic getaway, the last thing Jonah expects is a marriage proposal.” I’m so freaking excited to be getting a second full length story for the Wanting series. jonah and laurie are some of my favorite characters. I know this will be angsty, but i don’t care. i just want more Jonah and Laurie.

2. The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan – October 6th

Finding out that there would be a series focusing around Norse mythology after Heroes of Olympus ended was a big deal for me.I loved Norse mythology in school and I love Rick Riordan’s writing. Super excited to read the adventures of Magnus Chase.

3. The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood September 29th

This is a story about a couple who are living in their car and surviving on tips until they sign up for a social experiment. One that gives them a home and stable jobs, but they have to give up their freedom every second month. They swap the home for a prison cell. I love Margaret Atwood and this sounds too amazing to pass up.

4. Untouchable by S.A. Starcevic Release Date : June 18th

I just love superhero stories that have queer protagonist. This is something I’m really excited for.

This was a story about a polyamorous relationship forming. You start off with Cas and Tom who are extremely in love with each other , but have an open relationship. Tom meets a guy named Jake and brings him home for sex. Jake wakes from an awesome night of sex with Tom only to see Tom has gone into work. Then he meets Tom’s partner Cass. He’s definitely surprised and initially wants nothing to do with the open relationship Tom and Cass has, but life has other plans.

Like I said Tom and Cass are in an open relationship. So when Tom has sex with Jake it’s not cheating. Even though that’s what Jake initially thinks when he finds out about Cass. It’s something that wasn’t difficult for me to understand, but I can see how others might struggle with it. I’d still tell you to give the book a shot even if you thought you might struggle.

I did not know what to expect going into this story. I’d never read a story where the couple had a relationship quite like Cass and Tom’s.I’ve read other stories with characters in an open relationship, but this was really different. Every interaction said so much even when I was still questioning the strength of Cass and Tom’s relationship.

I didn’t understand why they ever decided to open up their relationship at first.By the end I think I had a good answer for that. Cass and Tom loved each other, but they were still broken. It was really great seeing them go on this journey. I feel like they were pieced back together in the end. I don’t think that was just because of Jake becoming part of their lives.

I definitely think Jake helped. Jake is really honest about what he is feeling even if it’s not intentional sometimes.I think that’s something that Tom and Cass needed. I loved seeing how Jake dealt with his tics. I’d never read a character with TS before and really enjoyed getting to do it in this story. i also enjoyed seeing how differently Tom and Cass were with dealing with Jake.

Cass was the most mysterious of the three for me. He often said things that felt kind of sardonic. Part of it may be that we don’t get his perspective until the end, but I enjoyed that it took us some time to get him. When you learn more about his past it all clicks for me. I understand why his relationship with Tom seems so broken at times.

I really loved seeing all three of the characters develop individually and together over time. Jake’s connection to Tom was instant, but I liked seeing his connection to Cass grow over time. It was a really beautiful story.

This week’s Top 5 Wednesday is favorite books of the year so far. This was pretty hard. I ended up looking through my Goodreads and the ratings of books I read in the first half of the year. So here’s the list.

Hero by Perry Moore – I really loved listening to the audiobook for Hero. It’s a fantastic story with some great characters. Thom’s journey from closeted super hero in training to where he is at the end was great to be on.

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera– I just read this book and I’m never gonna get over how great it is. I talk about it in a video here. Adam Silvera is a fantastic writer. Can’t wait to read more from him in the future.

Wicked by Clover Donovan –I don’t tell people about this book enough. Ethan Drake may be one of my favorite characters of the year. I felt like this was a awesome book about witches who really use their magic. I loved it.

Becoming Chloe by Catherine Ryan Hyde– I now have a thing for road trip books because of this story. I can’t get over how great the characters of Jordy and Chloe . This is a book i definitely see myself reading again.

Wanting By Piper Vaughn – I don’t think any M/M romance I read this year will be able to trump this story. Laurie and Jonah are so perfect. It’s a really well done story. I can’t wait for part two.

I’m a big fan of making sure you have consent for things. Even if you like spontaneity you need to make sure you talk out the roles you are comfortable with and what type of situations are okay in a relationship. pretending to be a burglar for kinky a sex is okay when your partner has expressed tat they want it. This book makes me uncomfortable from the beginning, but I did like the differences in the characters and was happy it worked itself out. Still I’ve got to give it two stars.

Taken by My Gay College Roommate and His Friends: (A Reluctant Taboo Gay Erotic Short Story) by Hunter Brookes.

This was good for an erotica. it has group sex that I found was written well. Ben is sort of forced into the sexual experience though. He is attracted to his roommate and his roommates friends, but it still has the opportunity to make you uncomfortable. Think about your comfort levels with something like this before you read it.

Gay Rebel: The Biker Next Door by Jesse Fuchs

Gay Rebel was a hot, but I didn’t like that the main character gets a gang bang for his first time though. There is no way that would have been really comfortable for him. There also wasn’t much of a story, but there are six books in the series. I’m sure there is more build up to something later on.

This is muscle twink erotica.It gets into the sex pretty quickly with a little plot. There is a a young guy lusting over his new neighbor. This is the first time I’ve read a story with beer play in and I really enjoyed that part. It definitely wasn’t my favorite erotica, but I will try to read more from the writer.

Hidden Talents is part 1 of a serialized set by Claire Cray. This story ends kind of abruptly. We get a major introduction to the character of Jin. We understand he has some kind of obsession with Ken right away. There is a sex scene that actually made me uncomfortable between Jin and another character. It was a really weird story.I think the switches in perspective hurt the story more than it helped it.I couldn’t find myself really getting attached to any of the character’s stories. I like the concept behind the Talents( the people with abilities) in this, but that wasn’t nearly enough to make me want to read the next 7 little novellas in this series. It could be for you though the book was free so if you like super powered people and gay sex go check it out.

Language Lessons by Jay Bell

This is the story of Joey. Joey is a have sex with them and leave them kind of guy. He doesn’t do boyfriends and relationships. He never has trouble getting laid. That is until he meets Phillip. Phillip is the type of guy who is all about having a connection to someone and therefore doesn’t want to get involved with Joey. After Joey sets up two guys that he knows he realizes that he might want something more.It’s not that easy though. You’ll have to read to find out. I will say that I did really enjoy this story. Jay Bell is becoming one of my favorite authors.

I really liked this story. I think Paul and William both needed each other. Their romance was interesting. Not the most natural romance, but I didn’t mind. The two had both been through some interesting relationships and I liked that they found each other through their business because you can see how much Paul focused on his work. I loved William’s ex-wife Maddie. Really great side character that I felt attributed something to the story. The section at the end with the reporters felt really weird to me though. I felt like they were telling them a bit much. overall it was a great story.

Olivia is a book blogger, writer, and an avid reader. On her book blog, and in her Galaxy of Books, she reviews young adult, new adult and romance novels with a particular focus on diverse books. Olivia also creates other fun book related content for her readers.